Sheet feeding machine



Feb7,1939.

E; w. BELLUCHE Er AL SHEET FEEDING MACHINE original Filed Deo. 21, 1933 '7 Sheets-Sheet l Feb. 7, .1939. E. w. BELLUCHE Er AL 2,145,916

SHEET FEEDING MACHINE 'l Original Filed Dec. 21, 1933 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 @Y www;

. l Y L 2? 74( 75 f6 l E. -W. BELLUCHE ET AL SHEET FEEDING MACHINE Original Filed Dec. 21, 1953 Ww/f REM/Urb;

Feb. 7, l193.9. E: w. BELLUCHE Er AL 2,145,916

SHEET FEEDING MACHINE Original Filed Dec. 21, 1933 '7 Sheets-'Sheet 4 ZY/779i .WEF/@H79 'EHU/r E 5PM/5b@ Feb. 7, 1939. E. -IBELLucHE E'r AL 2,145,916

SHEET FEEDING MACHINE 7 ShsetsF-Sheet 5 vOriginal Filed Dec. 2l, 1933 //UPF Wg//L/i/Y@ Tran/rf? EM/Um@ 5 m. M kw/.Hw IW i Feb. 7, 1939. .y ELM). a/ELLUCHE ET Ai 2,145,916 A SHEET FE'EDING MACHINE original Filed Deo. 21, 195sl 7 sheets-'sheet e .zj/A7, v Z6 z2 Feb. 7, 1939-. E. w. BELLLJCHv E- r AL SHEET FEEDING MACHINE Original Filed Dec. 2l, 1 933 TSheets-Sheet 7 '50, has entailed man Patented Feb. 7, 4i939 UNITI-:u ASTATES 2,145.93vv

PATENT owner-:

Racine, Wis., a corporation of Wissensi No. 125,550

s' claim. (ci. zii-sz) 'I'his invention relates to improvements in sheet feeders for high speed printing presses and kindred machinery and refers particularly to pile feeders wherein the sheets are picked oi! the top d yof apile and are fed into the-printing press or other machine with which the feeder is. connected.

As in the copending application of Eline: W.' Belluche and Frank R. Belluche, Serial No.

10 703,370, filed December 21, 1933, of'which this is a division, it is a general object'ofy the present invention to eiect an al1-around improvement in feeders of this type.

li special object of this invention vis to provide 1I novel means for rapidly elevating or depressing the pile and automatic means for insuring the presence of the operator directly at the piles so as to preclude the possibility of raising or lowering the pile too far without the use of complif S0 cated and not entirely reliable 'safety devices.

Heretofore, the provision of an independent drive for the pile elevator, operable to raise and lower the pile under'manual control, has been a more or less complicated mechanism and has required 25- the disconnection of'several driving connections or the complete shutting down of the feeder drive.l Also in pastconstructions, special safety devices had to be provided to preclude too great an elevation or depression of the pile.

80 These deficiencies and objections of past feeder constructions are overcome in the present invention by' the provision of a readily operable gear shifting arrangement and means responsive to the actuation or che control member therefor,

Y 35 for requiring manual depression of the electric starting button as long as. elevation or depression of the pile is tocontinue. Another object of this inventionis -to provide simple means for effecting sidewise 'adjustment .40 of the pile to insure proper disposition of the pile with respect tothe delivery mechanism. A further. object of this invention is to so construct the feeder as to facilitate its erection.

i Heretofore, it has always been a dimcult task to 4,5 erect' a feeder of the character described par' ticularly where it is designed to handle comparatively large sheets. In the absence of hoist- 'equipment which in the average printing rshop is not available, lthe erection of'A the feeder v ual lifting of heavy mechanisms into comparatively high positions andthe dimcult securement of such mechanisms to their supportingstructure, while so held.

To overcome objection, the present invention contemplates the' 'const-motion 9.! the 8119- porting structure and the main mechanism head v which is the'heaviest portion of the device to be elevated, so that part of the pile elevator may be employed to raise the mechanism head toits proper position, and to vhold the same while it 6 is secured in place.

With the above and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, our invention resides in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts substantially 10 as hereinafter .described and more vparticularly defined by the appended claims, it being understood that such changes inl the precise embodi- 'ment of the herein disclosed invention may be made as come within the scope of the claims. l5 The accompanying drawings illustrate one complete example of the physical embodiment of the invention constructed according to the best mode so fardevised for the practical application of the principles thereof, andvin which: 20

Figure 1 is a side view (feed side) of a' sheet feeder constructed in accordance with this invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged view in elevation of the feed side of the mechanism head; 26 Flgure'3 is a section view taken through Figure 4 on the plane of the line 3 3;

,Figure 4 is a section view through the feeder taken on'the plane ofthe line 4-4 of Figure l;

Figure 5 is a detail view showing the power v30 drive means for the pile raising and lowering mechanism;

Figure 6 is a detail view partly in section taken on the plane of the line 6 8 of Figure 5;v

Figure'IisaviewsimilartoIiigure6,butillus- 85 trating the elements thereof in another position Figure 8 is a detail perspective view showing the barrier against which the pilerests and illustrating the manner of adjusting the pile sidewise;

mguresisadeteusecuonviewcskenonme o plane'of the line I-I of Figure 8;

Figure l0 is a detail section view taken through Flgured on the' plane ofthe line Il-Il and showing the pile feeler:

Figure 13' man electrical diagram illustrating 60 the control for' the pue raising ond lowering power drive. i

Referring now particularly to the accompanyy ing drawings in which like numerals indicate like Parts throughouttheseveral views. it will be seen vator C suspended. from the Supporting frame and E, respectively, to pick oi the topmost sheet,

and a delivery mechanism 1i'v to receive the sheet as it is forwarded bythe front suckers, and convey it to a printing press, folder, or other machine 'with which the feeder ifs connected. Y

' Spportingvfrcme The general'su'pport for the feeder consists' of vfour upright posts or columns, two front columns 6 and two rear columns 1. The basesof these.

columns reston the door and are preferablysecured thereto, and the tops carry caps 8. on the front columnsand 9 on'the rear columns. .The

. two front columns are connected at tlleir tops by a tie rod lil anchored at its opposite ends to the front caps 8 and the rear posts are connected posite en'ds anchored in thecaps 3.

across their. tops by a tie rod II its op.

The front and rear posts -are rigidly connected byV longitudinal tie rods I2, whose ends are anchored' in thefront and rear' column caps. The .transverse and .longitudinal tie Arods thus form a. rigid frame connecting 4the upper ends. of the,columns.

f The front and rear column caps-are further rigidly connected by rack bars I3'who se opposite ends Vare xedthereto;

-' chains I5 trailid'over sprockets |6 flx Pile-supportana ssqiate mechanism Thepile elevating arid supporting means consist's. of two-longitudinal rails Il pported by tudlnal shafts IJ, which are joui'nalled. in open of the chains'hang down hollow columns.

topped 'bearings inlthe front= and rear column caps One end of "each chain isattached toon'e end ofone of the rails I l. and the opposite ends Supported on the rails..|l ,l u rlli'ch` are inclined forwardly, is a platform llu'pnwhich the pile of sheets rests. The Aplatform I8 has transverse supporting beams I8' provided with rllers'lilt'o form forfo'rward and backward movement..

wheels l1' ,secured thereto and meshing with the 'worm wheels'are rightandleft handed worms 20" carried by a shaft'20 which'extends' transversely" nalled in open topped bearings frmedaspart ofthe front column .caps 8. Obviously, the eng ".of the side frames lie adjacent the front colmns" and are clamped thereto: by U straps 51.-

gagenlent of the wheels 'with the. .worms precludes rotation of the shafts "by theweight Vof the pile, and'rotation of the worm shaft 2B provides 'means foradju'sting the elevation of the pile. f Y. The-worm' shaft zii -isadapted -to-be driven rapidly-by manually controlled c(means` to eifctrapid elevation or depressinof the pill; and is lso arrangedto be automatically actuated durin'g the-operation -of the'feeder to gradually raise t-hfejelevation of -the pile' as the sheets are removed thereonv automatically moves forwardly to main'- tain the front face 'ofthe pile a barrier '2li -Tne ban-ler :las bestiliustrated liir'igure s.,

consists'. or is. plmallty 'pi inter-nissan ver-near 'bars are transversely slidably mounted on a sultopposite end with the transverse bar 2B., 1

into the inside oi.' the- Vfront column caps by bolts "portions of the' side. frames.' .(see

The forward ends .of the shafts l1-have worm 'the two. side frames are'alike. Thisis especially 1 *wardiy from its bottom to .stub .shafts 52. whlchproject from opposite sides 2,145,916 ythat the general arrangement of the -feeder vcom'f n prises a supporting frame'A, amechanism head B mountedon the supporting frame,- an ele- -bars 22 betweenftwo endmost vertical bars 23.

The upper ends of the intermediate bars are all attached to a cross piece 24 which forms a support for the sheets asthey are forwarded from for the pile ofssheets'P, front and rear .suckers D the pile 4into the'delivery mechanism. 5 The endmost bars 2.3 are rigidly connected at their lower portions by diagonal cross braces 25,- and near their upper portions by ra. transverse bar 26. At theirl extreme bottom, the endmostg able transverse Supportinot shown) carried by the frontcolulnns The cr'oss bar 26 connecting theupperportions of the endmost vertical bars 23, is slidably mounted n a shelf 21 carried by the front columns-as will be .hereinafter more fully described, and isslidable by means of an adjusting mechanism 28 (see Figure 8) to effect 'sidewise adjustment of the bars 23.

The adjusting'mech'anism 28 comprises a screw 29 having a hand wheel 30, and a n ledially pivoted lever3i carrying a nut at one end threaded on the4 screw- 29 and having a connection 32 a t its The transverse adjustment of the side bars'23 ijs utilized to eifect sidewise adjustment ofthe pile with` respect' to the delivery mechanism, and to this end, the connections-between. the front chainsand ,the front ends oi the rails lli embody slides' as. These slides. as embrace the hars 2s and are attached to side plates 34 which form 30 parts ofthe connections between the ends of the chains and the rails.

' Mechanism head The mechanism head B is supported-'onthe front columns. Its supporting structurefcomprises two4 side frames, a garfside frame (notshown),`and a feed' side franie lil connected by transverse tie rods'l2, 43 arid-'4,v and .hy'a rectan gular cross bar Iii.

'This rigid framework suspended from the 46 passingv through aligned openings in flanges." carried by the coly umn 'caps and the4 adjacent upper inner corner Figure 3) While the td rawiilgs show only' the feed-side .frame 4i' of the mechanism head,' this being suiil- 'cient for. a-disclos ure of the invention.l here -in- ,volved, it is. desired to note that in many respects s'o as'to the manner of attaching the side-' franies, -to the front column aps.- Each side fram'e has a recess 'I3'.extending up divide the lower portion thereof into Afront and rear leg vportions I9 and 50, respectively. .The rear legi portions .50

Toprovide anchorage for the endsof the straps. the -side frame leg portions ,50. carry transverse of the side frames. Adjustingscrews (notjshown) 'nl'a'y be threadedrint these transverse stub shafts to'bear against the adjacent portions, of the 'columns and provde'coxlvenient n leans for adjusting the'position of the mechanism head; f

A main cam side frames with shaft s1 -is supported noni-maf its axis locatedin the crotch' of the recesses ,l-by bearings iixegi to the inner facesof the side'frames. Suitable mechanism 70 (not shown) -drivesthe cam shaft, andas de- 'scribed in the aforesaid copending application, the main drive for'the feeder preferably taken frm the press or other machine which it feeds.

across the space between theside frames is 'a maindelivery roll 58 drivenjfrom the posited on the roll. Tapes 58 are trained about the roll to be driven thereby and to carry the sheet forward' into the delivery mechanism.

The cam shaft l51 has a plurality 4of cams mounted thereon, most of which areA associated with mechanism not essential to a disclosure of the invention here involved. One of these cams,

however, forms part of the mechanism for elevating the pile. This cam 6|! has two functions re- 'lated to the operation of the automatic pile elevator. It vcontinuously drivesy the means Vfor turning the worm shaft 2 0, and also initiates the functioning of the worm shaft driving means. For carrying out its first function, a crank pin 6I is fixed thereto. Attached to the pin 6| is a pitman 62 to oscillate a pawl carrier 63, pivotally mounted on the adjacent end of the worm shaftv A paw1 ss is pivotally mounted' as at s1 from the pawl carrier to lie above the ratchet wheel and engage the same, when permitted by a mask 68. The mask 68 is formed by the outer curved end portion of a lever 68 pivotally mounted as` at 10 from the adjacent rack bar|3, and provides a track on which a roller 1I carried by the. free end of the pawl rides. In its operative raised position, the mask is so disposed with respect to the center of the shaft 20 as to hold the pawl out of. engagement with the ratchet wheel, but

upondropping out of the way, Vpermits engagement of the pawl with the ratchet wheel. Inasmuch as the main cam shaft 51 and consequently the -cam 60 is continuously turning, it

follows that the pawl carrier 63 and the pawl are constantly being oscillated, Normally, the

oscillation of the pawl hasno driving effect upon the shaft 2D, but under certain conditions,- as determined by the height of the pile, the mask drops out of the way and permits momentary engagement of the pawl with the ratchet wheel so as to turn the shaft 28 a slight distance' and elevate the pile to its proper height. Y

The control for the mask 68 incorporates the cam 66 in the following manner: .Tracking on the cam 68 is a follower 12 carried by one end of a lever 13, which is medially pivoted as at 14. The vopposite end of the lever 13 has a tension 1 spring 15 connected thereto which yieldably tends to-cause the roller 12 to track the cam 60. Also connected to` said opposite' end of the lever 13 is a. link 18, which extends upwardly to connect with one arm of a bell crank lever 11.

. 'Ihe bell crank lever 11 is xed to a shaft 18 extending transversely from 'the feed side inwardly to a bracket. 18 adjustably mounted in the center of the feeder. Fixed to the shaft 18, adjacent the bracket 18, is a curved lever arm 86 (see Figure 10) which overhangs the adjacent portion of the pile and carries a p ile feeler 8| at its outerfree end. The lowerend of the pile feeler has a roller 82,'which is adapted to engag, the

top of the pile, and a link 88 connected with the medial portion of thefeeler and receiving support from the bracket 1l, serves to hold the feeler in a substantially vertical position as it is raised and lowered by oscillation ofthe shaft 18. Oscillation o'f the shaft 18 is produced by the motion 'ofthe lever 13 in following the cam 60, which is merely a round disc having a flat portion, the

spring 15 'pulling the link 16 down to turn the' shaft 18 in one direction whenever the fiat portion of the cam aligns with the roller 12.

'I'he direction of rotation imparted to the shaft 18y by the spring 15 is such'asto engage the feeler with the top of the pile so that the force which causes the feeler to move down onto the pile is notl positive but yieldable. degree o f rotation which it is possible to impart to the shaftl 18 in consequence to the tendency of the spring 15 to-cause the cam follower 12 to follow the flatportion ofthe cam 68, is limited and determined by the height of the pile. AAs the sheets are removed from the pile, the degree of possible rotation of the shaft 18 increases and when a predetermined maximum degree of rotation 'is permitted, the bell crank lever 11, through an adjustable stop 84, moves a lever 85 to lift a latch bar 86 out of operative position.

The lever 85 is pivotally mounted on the feed side front'column cap as at 81 and the latch bar 86 is carried directly by the lever 85. The outer end of the latch bar 86 is notched .to dene a sharp shoulder' 88, with which, when the latch bar is in operative position, a stud 88 carried by the arm 80 of the bell crank lever,68 engages.

In its normal operative position, the latch bar 86 holdsthe bell c rankflever 68 in its position maintaining the mask 68 in its raised or active position, but when thelatch bar 86 is lifted out of'engagement with the stud 68, the lever 68 turns by gravity about its'pivotal mounting 10, and permits the operative engagement of the pawl with the ratchet wheel, whereupon the next link servesA to lift the vlever 68 and the mask carried thereby to its raised position nd sufficiently fa;- to re-engage the stud 88 with the latch bar 86. Thereafter, the oscillation of the pawl carrier 63' merely reciprocates the rod 8lv with respect to the stud carried by theglever extension 83 without having anyv effect thereon Consequently, the

until the latch bar 86 is again tripped as a result of the lowering of the pile top.

vThrough the mechanism described, rotation is imparted to the worm shaft 20 whenever the height of the pile drops. slightly, and as the worm shaftdirectly actuates the shafts i 1 on which the sprockets |6`are' mounted, the pile supporting chains arelifted to bring the pile height to its required elevation.

Independent manually controlled pile elevator lPower driven mechanism is providedfor rapidly elevating or lowering the pile or its carrying platform. This mechanism is manually controlled and functions entirely independent of the automatic pile elevator just described. It is driven at the wilLofthe operator, in either' direca jack shaft 96. :The jack Sheff. 9e is driven from a motor 91 mounted on shelf 21-and drives the tion, 4from a pinion. fixed to the outer end-of pumps (not shown) Byengagingeither of two meshinggears 98`or 99 with -the pinion 95, the

' pile is caused' to raise or lower. The gears .90 and 99`are carried 'by a lever member |00 pivotally' 1 .mounted o n astub shaft |0| journalled in' a'siiitjack shaft 96.

able bearing carried by astandard |02 which also provides a bearing for the adjacent end of the r In the normal neutral position of the'levermember' ^|00 neither oneofthe gears 90 or 9 9 meshes with the pinion 95, but upon clockwise movement of thelever member about thefaxis ofthe' stub shaft |0| by means o'fitshandle |03, the gear 08 i's meshed with the pinion 95 to drive a large gear |04 fixed to the shaft 0| in a counside of the feederl (see Figure 5).

terclockwise. direction as viewed from the feed Also fixed to the shaft' |0| 'is a sprocket wheel 05,.whch upon rotation-of the shaft through the gear connection just entablished, transmits a like -he'lding the lever Ylun in anyef as three positions. is means to positively render` the automatic-pile' rotation tothe sprocket 64 nxed to the. worm shaft 20; through the medium of a-sprocket chain |06. This counterclockwise rotation of the worm 'shaft 20 imparts rotation to the shafts 1'in a direction to raise the pile. v

To lower the pile,l the lever member l| isl swung'to its, opposite position meshing the gear 99 with thepinion 9 5 so that the gear 90 acts as' an idler and changes the direction of rotation of the gear |04. The. lever member 0 is 'normally held in its neutral position by a re easable lock comprising a s'crew |01 threaded in the adjacent wall of the standard |02 and havinga head |08 adapted to enter a4 counterb'ore' |09 formed in the lower end portion ||0. of the leverl member. A hand wheel.| on the outer: end of'thescrew :elevating mechanismA inoperative. This 'means comprises av lever l medially pivotally mounted as at |l6, and having one 'endl I1 bored to rcceive the lower end of apush rod |0 'the upper end of which is attached-tothe' mask'carryinsl lever 69. A collar H0 is xed to the lowerend portion of the rod ||8 to be engaged by the end ||1 of the lever H5 in the event the mask 'lever Vls down and the lever' I i 5 is actuated in a manner `.now about to be described.

A lug |20 is formed on the end of the lever ||5 pposite its connection with the rod ||8. -This lug, as best illustrated in Figures 6 and '1., liesv ini V the path of the screw head |08l as the screw is A turned to withdraw the head out of any one of the counterbores'in which it may be engaged so that `uponsuch outward axial movement ofthescrew, the lever ||5 will be moved about its piv l f otal mounting to elevate its end |'|1 and consequently the mask lever if it happens to be in its lowermost inoperative position. i The lower end portion ||0 of the lever member f 'arancio -'|00,whi'chis, circumferential to the iaxis of the 'too' far.

shaft |0| also hastwo outwardly projecting-lugs |2| `adapted to engage a rounded projection |22 Y on the lever ||5 upon movement of the lever member |00 out of, its normal' neutral position,

to depress'the adjacent endv ofthe `lever ||5 and '.hold the same down after the screw head |08 is moved-out of engagement with the lug, |20.

The rocking movement of the lever H5, as -described, besides serving to lift the mask lever in the event this member is'in its lowermost inoperative position,v also has an additional safety function', as now about to be described.-

4As stated, the drive for the rapid pile elevating and lowering means is obtained' from the pump drive jack shaft, which in turn'lsdrlven 'from the motor 01. The starting and stopping of the ary, in push button controls ofthis character, a

motor is' controlled by -a push button control box |23 of conventional construction. As Vis customstart button |24, and a stop" button |25 are provided.

As illustrated in ure. 13, -depression oi-the start button |24 when the stop switch is in its normally closed position,

completes a circuit-whichI energizes' the coil of.

a relay R, whose switches S1 and, S? then close to the electrical diagram in` ligconnect-the power lines L1 and L3 with' the motor.

The relay R also has an auxiliary holding switch S3 connected in series with the normally closed stopswitc'h' |25, which closes t maintainthe relay energized afteropening of the start switch.

Thus the motor will continue to run until the stop button is depressed opening the stop switch and breaking the holding clrcuit.-

Mechanically-eonnected to and closing with the start switch |24 i's another switch' |24'. This switch is connected in series with the start switch holdingthe stop switch open, the motor maybe loperated 'but only by depressing-'and holding the start switch closed.

\ Consequentl with down, itis-possible touse the start button of the control box as an "inching control with the motor operating only as long as the start butsure the operators presence at the pile end-ofthe feeder during the actual `raising and lowering of the pile# To this '-end the control box |23 is mounted .in such a position that the depressible end |26 of the lever ||5 is directly over the stop button |25. '-Hence, when the lever |00 isshifted into either of its operative positions, the stop" button .55

of the switch control boxwill be depressed' to stop the drive motor 91 .if this niotor is in operation. As long as the lever member is in either shifted when` the stop button is'held down the "stepr buttonneld vton' is held down.` This feature is utilized to inposition, the motor can be operated only by holding the start button |24 down and as the control box |23 `is so located that the operator can readily observe the position of the pile; it is -highly improbable that the pile will be raised or lowered 'Method of-er'eetien i The construction oi? the feeder and particularly the mechanism -head and its support'v facilitates the erectionof thefeeder. This feature of the feeder is particularly desirable especially where i `the feeder is designed `to handle comparatively large sheets for in such structures, the operating parts, which'must be mountedatthe top of the. supporting structure are quite heavy.

In'the present structure, the mechanism head may be completely assembled by the manufacposition.

Attached to thelower ends of the front chains 'are carrier brackets |30. These brackets have rollers |-3| to engage the front and rear faces of the columns and slidably mount the carriers for vertical movement. The lower ends of the carriers are provided with hooks |32 adapted to engage the stub shafts 52v on the mechanism head and thus support the entire head. To hold the head on the carrier brackets, retaining hooks |33 t areprovided, the hooked ends thereof engaging over the tie rod .42. The opposite ends of the retaining hooks are slidably received in studs |34 ilxed to the carrier brackets and are threaded to receive wing nuts |35 by which the angular position of .,the'head with respect to the columns is readily adjustable.

With the carrier brackets lowered, the mechanism head may be readily mounted `thereon as to do so requires very little, if any. lifting. The mechanism head having been properly mounted on the carrier brackets, the worm shaft 20 is manuallyactuated by means of a crank |36 temporarily attached thereto until the mechanism head has been elevated to its proper position, whereupon .the supporting bolts 46 are inserted to suspend the mechanism head in its operative position. 1

The same carrier brackets |30 are also, used to raise the pump supporting shelf 21 with the pumps and associated apparatus mounted thereon to its proper position as s hown in Figure 12.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be readily apparent to those skilled inthe art, that this invention affords numerous improvements in suction sheet feeders which collectively' ail'ord greater accuracyl at high speeds and greater convenience of operation.

What we claim as our invention is:

1. In a device of the character described, a vertically movable support for a pile of sheets, means to rapidly raise and lower the support including a. power driven pinion and gears shiftable into engagement with the power driven pinion, a gear shifting member to selectively engage either of said ygears with ,the power driven pinion, an electric motor to drive said pinion, a push button control switch for the motor, and means operable by shifting movement of the gear .shifting member todepress the stop button of the control Aand thus stop the drive motor, wherebythe operation of the motor requires manually holding of the start button down as long as raising or lowering of the pile support is to continue.

,2.` In a device of the character described, a vertically movable support for a pile of sheets, means driven by an electric motor'to 'selectively raise and lower the support, a push button control for starting andy stopping the motor mounted near thel movable support so that the movable support is readily visible to an operator stationed at the push button control, a member movable to ren- -the presence of the operator near the pile support.

3. In a device of the character described, a vertically movable support for a pile of sheets, means to automatically elevate the pile support, means independent of said means for automatically elevating the pile support and driven by an electric motor to selectively raise and lower the support, a manually operable member to render said'independent motor driven means operative, a push button control for starting and stopping the electric motor, said push button control being located near the movable pile support, and means-operable by movementof the manually operable member `to render the independent pile elevating and lowering means operative to positively prevent actuation of the automatic pile elevating meansv and to depress the stop button of the control so that the running of the electric motor to eiIect operation of the independent raising and lowering means requires manually holding the start" button down and thereby in,

sures the presence Aof an-operator near the pile lsupport. 4. In a device of the character described, a vertically movable platform for a pile of sheets, a movable support for the platform, and means to effect sidewise adjustment of the pile comprising, spaced vertical rigidly connected rails, means connected with the platform and slidably engaging said rails, and adjusting means for shifting the connected rails sidewise. 5.In a device of the character described, a

vertically movable platform to support a pile of f sheets, supporting means for said platform, a barrier with which one side of the pile is engage-` ible 'elements upwardly, f' a mechanism headV adapted to be mounted at the top ofthe supporting structure, said mechanism head being comparatively heavy, 'and means. attachable to certain of the flexible elements'and adapted to carry the mechanism head up to its position'of attachment upon drawing said flexible elements upwardly, whereby in erection the mechanism head is easily raised to its position of attachment without the aid of external hoisting mechanism.

'7. In a pile type sheet feeder, a platformto hold a pile of sheets, a supporting structure, flexible elements suspending the platform from the supporting structure, a vertical guide rail, means movable with the platform and slidably fitted to the guide rail, and means for adjustably fixing the position. of the guide rail to constrain the platform to vertical movement along a fixed line.

8. .In a pile type sheet feeder, a vertically movable platform to support a pile of sheets,sup

porting rails for .the platform, exible elements 'for lsuspending the supporting rails-from an overheadsupport with the rails inclined downwardlytoward the front of the feeder, rollers between the platform and the rails whereby the platform with the pile thereon moves forwardly by4 gravity, a

.. plurality lof vertical bars collectively forming a barrier in front of the pile and against which the" pileV moves by gravity, one of said bars beingA adjustable sidewise, and means `connected with the platform and slidabiy fitted to. said vsidew'ise adjustable bar whereby the platform Vis guided for vertical Imovenrient by said bar.

9L In a sheet feeder of the type in which sheets arewlthdrawn from the top ofthe pile, a readily set yup supporting structure, rotatable sprocket l'shafts mounted on the upper portion of the sup- 

